NHRA Funny Car driver Eric Medlen died Friday, four days after he suffered a severe head injury in a test session crash at Gainesville, Fla. He was 33.Before I got into NASCAR I used to follow drag racing pretty closely. I did a chapel service for the NHRA World Finals event in 1990 and also sang the national anthem at that year in Pomona. I had a chance to meet a number of the racing stars of that day.
Medlen's family elected to have him taken off life-support systems, which they said was Eric's wish for this type of situation.
Medlen's Mustang Funny Car crashed head-on into the right concrete barrier after it blew a tire on a test run Monday, the day after the Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Medlen was one of four drivers for John Force Racing. The other three JFR drivers -- Force, Robert Hight and Ashley Force -- stayed in Florida with Medlen's family.
"Eric was the son I never had," said Force, who has four daughters. "He was the leader of my next generation of drivers. This loss is a huge blow, not only to the Medlen family, but to drag racing and to John Force Racing."
Drag racing is an event where things can go bad very quickly. When you're driving a machine capable of going 1/4 mile from a standing start in less than 5 seconds, there's not much time for error. People forget that the teams do more than appear at the races - they also test and practice, and both are just as dangerous as the actual races. NASCAR lost two drivers in 2000 during practice laps.
John Force is an icon in the NHRA, and losing a star member of his team will be very tough. His daughter is also driving one of his cars, so you can imagine the emotions that the very emotional Force is feeling today. My prayers go out to the family and the team.
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